Sheet feeding mechanism



Aug. 27, 1957 w. .w. BEMAN SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 24, ].954

WARD W. BEMAN IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY Aug. 27, 1957 w. w. BEMAN I 2,804,301

SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 24,. 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ISd l5a&/ 2 [6e E INVENTOR. 4 I WARD w. BEMAN v a BY 15b MW IQ /W W. W. BEMAN SHEET FE Aug. 27, 1957' EDING MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 24, 1954 INVENTOk. WARD W BEMAN 6 mm mi w GE ATTORNEY "the'top of a card moving under thegate. are-provided with interspaced' toeson th' 'r feet and the toes-of eachifootimo've' between'thetoes of Each leg is drivenlso fthatQits foot moves' along apath 2,804,301 SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM -Ward -W.- Beman,- Glendale, Calif,,'-assignor, byir'nesue assignments, to International Business -Machinesf Goraporation, New .York, N. Y.,--a..corporationof 'New York 5 Application November 24, --1954,-'Serial No;'470',845 Claims. (Cl."27141) This invention relates to sheet feeding mechanism and especially to apparatus for .feeding sheets of substantial thickness, for example, accountingmachine cards; 'atihigh rates ofspeed.

In feeding sheets at high rates of--,-speed,-titihas been suggested to feed the sheets from. a-supplyr'stackin' an overlapped condition, i.- e., .with-. each: sheet overlapping partially the preceding sheet:andbeingoverlappedby the following sheet. The overlapped sheets are separated later at a point in the sheet-handling operation '=WhlGh'-lS spaced from the supply stack.

The rapid feeding or. accounting-cardsto;;high:;speed computers presents exceptionalproblems, because of :the

='described.

'The foregoing objects are.attained.byproviding at the outlet of acard feeding hopper awalkinggate mechanism including two legs. Each leg is provided .with. a foot "hav ng a side'face adapted toengage ltheQleadingzedgesof the'car'ds of the stack and -a b ottom'face adapted ,toengage .The' two gates the other foot.

from a registering position in which itsside fa'ce engages "the lowermost card in the stack forwardly.,.along.,the

path 'ofi'card movemenhithen 'upwa-rdlyuntil itfclears .the lowermost card, and .then 'bac'kwar'dly ,along .the. pathof card' movement 'to agate position in which. its side. face engages the stack of cards "above the'secondf lowermost card. The-legs are "connected'for eccentric movement --'with-"respect-to each other and means are provided for driving the legs alternately alongjpathsjas, described above,

'thedriving means "being effective vwhen'the'foot ofmne leg 'is fin'the registering position to iholdthe. foot of-the other leg in the gateposition.

'T-he walking gate mechanism. is mounted-.onr-a frame. The connections -between thee legs .and the framednclude a pair of rods spanning ithe generally U-shapedframe. The legs are, provided with-slotsiacross their upperaends :to receive one oftherods. :Thesother rod;v passes through openings in "the lower: portionswo'frthei legsxand serves-as aw-stopdoElimit their forward landibac'leward movement. Springs; bias-the:two legssagainst one' side of the stop ro'd.

United States Patent -lgate' taken along the line V'V of Fig.

sequ'ence of movements of various :.gate'during a card feeding operation.

"The driving means includes a shaft extending throiigli'the "frame and having journals in the two legs whichare eccentric with respect to each other. The frame "is mounted on a fixed vertical support'by means "of a parallelogram linkage so that the frame maymove' up 'wardly,parallel to the face of the supply stack of'cards; so as to permit different numbers of cards to pass under the-gate simultaneously, for example, during 'startingf o'r stopping the feeding of a stack of cards.

"Affriction roller runs continuously against'the bottom card in the stack and tends to drive it forward-and'through thegate. Suction apparatus isprovidedformaintaining a subatmospheric pressure on the underside'of the'bottom =card to hold it against the friction roller. As soon as-th'ey passthe gate, the cards are engaged'by positive pullout rollers. I

'Other'objects and'advantag'es of "the invention will" become-"apparent'from a consideration of. the following specification and claims, taken together with the a'ccompanying drawings.

l i ln the 'drawings,

"':'Fig. l -is a somewhat diagrammatic perspective view of -a' cardfeeding mechanism embodying the invention;

*Fig. 2 is a perspective view similar to. Fig. 1 showing ce'rtain parts of the mechanism in greater'detail, including the walkinglgate mechanism;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the walking :gat'e;

Fig.4 is-an assembled igate;

Fig. 5 'is avertical cross-sectional view 'of the walking 4; and i'Bigs. 6A to 6F are diagrammatic views illustrating the parts of the walking perspective view -of the 'walking Th'ere lis'shown in Fig. 1 a hopper 1 forreceiving" a :stack: of. cards-'2, which are held down by a weight 3. .The .hopper'il is provided near the bottom of one en'dwith an opening lca through which cards may 'be fedfrom the bottom of the stack. The hopper is tilted slightly toward the opening 1a to facilitate the 'outwa'rd'tnove- :mentof the cards. Below the hopper is loctaed a shaft'4 carr-ying. a rubber friction roller 5 which projects through -an openingin' the bottomof the -hopper,--and' engages the bottom card of the stack. The shaft-4is continuously turning in a direction so that-the roller 5 tends to feed the bottom card out'of the hopper.

I TheshaftA and roller=5 are located in-:a box'-6,--under the .hopperll. .The pressure in the-box 6 is'maintained "at ajsubvatmospheric value by means of a 'pumpi (not .showr'rlconnected to-an outlet 7. The-suctionsornaintained in the box 6 helps to hold'the cards against-the continuously running roller 5.

IThe-cards feeding from the bottom 'of the stack Lpass .through the opening 1a under'the control of a walking gate mechanism generally indicated at 7, which is-describe d in detail below. Immediately aft'enpassingnthe gate 7,'the ends of the cards are engaged by. a-l'pair iof pullout rollers 8, which are spaced close to the gate' 7. The rollers 8 feed the cards across'a table 9 tora pair bf separating rollers 10. The, cards passingacross-the table 9 are in theiroverlapped conditiomas illustrated at ll in Fig- 2. The rollers 10 are running substantially faster than-the rollers 8, so that they separate-eachoverlapped cardfrOm the following cards. The cards maythen proceed through any desired apparatus-forperforrning accounting functions, such as card reading, -printing"or pun'ching mechanisms.

The-cards-are fed endwise from the'hopperl. '.'The spacing betweenthe pullout rollersS andthesepar'ating friotiorr-rolleri --is' less than the length of one card.

t Walking gate The walking gate mechanism comprises a Vertically extending frame 12, having a U-shapcd horizontal crosssection. of parallelogram links 13, whose opposite ends are pivoted on the lower end of a fixed support 14, which extends parallel to the discharge side of the hopper 1.

Inside the frame 12 are two legs 15 and 16. The leg 15 is shown as having a U-shaped horizontal cross-section,

so dimensioned that it fits freely inside frame 12, and the leg 16 has a rectangular horizontal cross-section so dimensioned that it fits freely within the leg 15. At their lower ends, the legs 15 and 16 are provided with feet 15a and 16a (Fig. .The feet 15a and 16a are provided with interspaced toes 15b and 16b, the arrangement being such that the toes 15b of foot 15a move, between the toes 16b of foot 16a, and vice versa. Each of the toes 15b and 16b has a front face 15e, 16e, adapted to engage the leading edge of the cards stacked in the hopper 1, and a bottom face 15 16f, adapted to engage the top of a card 2 which is passing under the gate.

Two rods 17 and 18 are fixed at their ends in the sides of the U-shaped frame 12, and span the space between those sides. The legs 15 and 16 are provided in their upper surfaces with slots 15c, 16c, which receive the upper rod 17. The lower rod 18 passes through suitably formed apertures 15d, 16d in the two legs 15 and 16. Springs 19 and 20 are retained between the frame 12 and the legs 15 and 16, respectively, and biasthe lower ends of those legs to the left as viewed in the drawings toward positions in which the right-hand ends of the openings 15d, 16d engage the lower rod 18'.

A drive shaft 21 extends freely through the sides of the frame 12, and is journaled in both of the legs 15 and 16. The journal in one of the legs is made eccentric with respect to the journal in the other. In the particular mechanism illustrated, this is accomplished by having the journal in the leg 16 concentric with shaft 21, while the journal in leg 15 comprises a pair of eccentrics 22, fixed on shaft 21 and journaled in the opposite arms of the The frame 12 is pivotally connected to a set 1 U-shaped leg 15. Any equivalent mechanism which will cause the legs 15 and 16 to move eccentrically with respect to each other may alternatively be used.

The shaft 21 turns continuously in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6A. The shaft 21 is driven through a pair of universal joints 23 and 24 (Figs. 1) to accommodate the motion of the eccentrics, and of the frame 12, as described below.

Operation of the walking gate Fig. 6A shows the mechanism in its startlng position, before any card is fed from stack 2. Leg 15 has the face 15e of its toes against the lowermost cards in the stack 2. The leg 16 is at a'positionso that itsfoot 16a is slightly higher than the foot 15a. The eccentric jourin the uppermost one of the two legs.

the leg 15 is moved to the right, to the position shown in Fig. 6B, the leg 16 remaining in the position shown in Fig. 6A, with the right-hand end of opening 16d engaging stop rod 18. As leg 15 moves to the right, the lowermost card in the stack 2 follows it, since it is driven by friction roller 5 and is not restrained except by the leg 15. When the leg 15 reaches its right-hand limit of movement, as determined by eccentric 22, the parts have reached the position shown in Fig. 6B. As the eccentric continues to turn, leg 15 is driven upward, until it clears the leading edge of the lowermost card, whereupon that card continues to move forward under the drive of the friction roller 5. Almost as soon as it clears the leg 15, the card reaches the pullout rollers 8, which engage it positively on both its upper and lower surfaces, and drive it forward.

As the shaft 21 continues to rotate, the eccentric 22 reaches the position shown inFig. 6C. The leg 16 is now the lowermost of the two legs, the leg 15 being raised to .010 above leg 16 by the action of the eccentric 22. Both legs have their toes against the cards in the stack. Leg 16 has its bottom face 16 resting upon the top of the first card which was fed.

The position of the lowermost leg at any instant determines thevertical position of the frame 12 with respect to the stationary support 14. The frame 12 rests, by means of the rods 17 and 18, on the bottoms of the slots 15c and 16c and the openings 15d, 16d. At any given instant, it rests on the bottomof the slot and/ or opening That uppermost leg is supported above the lower leg by the shaft 21 and eccentrics 22. The vertical position of the lower leg is determined by the thickness of the card or cards passing underneath it, and on which it rests.

In the position in Fig. 6C, the lower leg 16 is on the top of one card only. The vertical position of leg 15, above leg 16, is determined by the eccentric 22. The frame 12 rests by means of the rods 17 and 18 on the leg 15. The frame 12 moves vertically to accommodate the thickness of the cards underneath the legs. It is maintained parallel to the face of the stack 2 by the parallelogram linkage 13.

It may be seen, by reference to Figs. 6A, 6B and 6C,

;that during the time represented by those figures, the

lower end of .the leg 15 has been driven on a generally elliptical path extending from the position of Fig. 6A,

to the right and upwardly and then back to the left and to the position in Fig. 6C. The position of leg 15 in Fig. 6A is hereinafter referred to as the registering positionfand the position in Fig. 6C as the gate position.

Starting now from the position shown in Fig. 6C, the

eccentric 22 continues to turn counterclockwise and tends nals 22 in leg 15 are arranged so that this difference in height between the two feet is slightly more than the a thickness of one card, but substantially less than the thickness of two cards. For example, for handling cards .007 thick, this distance was made equal to .010.

As the shaft 21 turns counterclockwise as viewed in i Fig. 6A, the eccentn'c 22 tends to move the leg 15 to the right with respect to leg 16. The springs 19 and 20 ten'd to hold both the legs against the rod 18. The result is that the leg which at any instant is being driven to the right with respect to the other leg is forced to the right against its associated biasing spring, the other leg remaining in the position where the right-hand end of its opening 15d or 16d engages the rod 18. In the present instance,

to push the leg 15 to the left with respect to leg 16.

' However, leg 15 cannot move to the left, being restrained 'by therods 17 and 18. The leg 16 and shaft 21 therefore move backward against the spring 20, reaching the position of Fig. 6D. The leg 16 now follows a path similar to that followed by leg 15 in Figs. 6A to 6C, except that it takes place at a generally higher level, since the lowermost card is now under the gate. As the leg 16 'moves to the position of Fig. 6D, the second card in the stack follows it, being driven by the roller 5. As the leg 16 proceeds from the position of Fig. 6D to the position of Fig. 6E, it moves upwardly and clears the leading edge of the second card, which is thereupon pushed out underneath the leg 15, then in its gating position. The leg 16 on reaching the position. of Fig. 6B is in the same position with respect to leg 15 as it was in Fig. 6A. However, both the legs and the frame 12 have now been moved upward from their positions of Fig. 6A by an amount equal to the thickness of two cards.

The walking gate has 'now proceeded through one complete cycle. It continues to repeat the same cycle, rising the thickness of two cards on each repetition of the cycle until a condition is reached where the end of the ween-e01 lowermost c-ard is passing out from nnderneath the gate as a new card is fed-into-it. '-This-situation'is'illustrated in Fig. 6F. The frame 12thenremains inthat-position, with the-walking gate proceeding through its operating cycle,'until almost all the cards in the hopper z'have been "fed out. ,As thelastfewcardsinthe-hopper are fed, the

,the restraint is only fromthedrive impartedthrough' the friction roller 6. By the time the-leading edge of the I card reachesthe positive feedingxpullout rollers 8,'wh1ch engage both oppositesurfaces of the card; then the leg "15 or 16, as the case may.be,,has moved upwardly out of 'the path of'the card audit is no longerrestrained. The gate mechanism is thereby effective to feed the cards. at a 1 high rate of speed withouttdeformingtheir edges.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, other modifications thereof will readily occur to .those skilled in the art, and it' 1s therefore intendedjthat theinvention be limited onlyby the appended claims.

"What is claimed is:

1. Card feedingmechanism including agate comprising a pair of legs, each leg having. a foot with a side face adapted to engage the leading'edges of cards in the stack and a bottom face adapted to engagethe top ofa card moving under'the gate, aset of spaced toes on each foot, said respective sets of spaced toesbeinginterspaced so as to be movable between'the .toes on the otherfoot, means connecting said legs for eccentric movement with respect toeach other and meansincln'ding said connect-' ing means for alternately, drivingtherlegsuthrough paths extending, for each leg, from a registering position in which its side face engages the lowermost card in the "stack :forwardly along the path ofzcard movement,-v up- -wardly until it clears the lowermost card, and-then:backwardly above the path of card movement to a gate position in which its side face engages the stack above the lowermost card.

2. Card feeding mechanism for feeding cards from a stack, comprising a walking gate including a frame of U-shaped horizontal cross-section, a pair of legs, a pair of vertically spaced rods spanning said U-shaped frame, said legs being located between the arms of said U-shaped frame and having vertically extending slots in their upper ends to receive the upper rod, said rods supporting said legs for limited horizontal and vertical movement with respect to said frame, each leg having a foot with a side face adapted to engage the leading edges of cards in the stack and a bottom face adapted to engage the top of a card moving under the gate, means connecting said legs for eccentric movement with respect to each other including said rods, vertically extending slots in the upper ends of said legs to receive the upper rod, said upper rod serving as a pivot for said legs and transverse openings in each leg to receive the lower rod, said trans-' verse openings extending horizontally in the direction of movement of said legs, said lower rod limiting the movement of said legs, and means including said connecting means for alternately driving the legs through paths extending, for each leg, from a registering position in which its side face engages the lowermost card in the stack forwardly along the path of card movement, upwardly and until it clears the lowermost card, and then backwardly above the path of card movement to a gate position in which its side face engages the stack above the lowermost card.

3. Card feeding mechanism as defined in claim 2, including spring means biasing said legs to hold one end of said openings in engagement with said lower rod.

4. Card feeding mechanism for feeding a stack of cards,

comprising awalking gate including a-fraineiof u-shaped horizontal cross-section, a pair'of'legs located between the arm of said U'-shaped' frame mearis supporting said legs for limitedhorizontal and-vertical'movement with respect to said frame, each leg havingafoot with a side face adapted to engage the-leading-edges of-cards in the stack, and a bottomface-adaptedto-engage 'the'top of a card moving under the gate, 'means'connecting said legs for eccentric movement with respect to each other -including a shaft 'spanningsaid- U-shaped"frame-and journaled in both said-legs, the journal in one l eg being eccentric withrespect to thejournal -in the other leg, means pivotally supporting and limiting the movement of said legs within said frame, and means-including said connecting means for alternately driving the legs through paths extending, for each leg-from:aregistering -position inwhich its side face engages the lowermostcardin the stack forwardly along the path of card-movementgupwardly until'it clears the lowermost card,"and then' back- :wardlyabove the path of card movement to agate=po- .sition-in which its side face engages't-he :stackabovethe vlowermost card.

5. Card feeding mechanism as definedin'claim 4," in

which said shaft extends freely through-one of the arms to the U-shaped frame, andmeans'outside of the" frame for drivingsaid shaftdncludinga mechanical connection to permit lateral translation ofusaidshaft.

6.. Card feeding mechanism as defined in claim' i in which. said, means pivotally supporting and limiting' the "movement of said legs comprises a pair'of rods vertiqcally.,spaeed spanning. said U-shaped frame, said legshe- ;ing located between'the arms of saidiu-shaped frame and having vertically extending slots in their upper ends to receive-thev upper rod,-t,said :upperrod serving -as a-'pivot forsaidlegs, and transverse-openings to :reeeivev the lower 7 rod, .said openings extending horizontallyrin the direction .of movement of said legs, said lower roddimitingfthe movement of said: legs.

,7. Card feedingmechanism ,for :feeding cardsfrompa stack comprising, a Walking gateincludinga ,frame ;hav-

ing a U-shaped horizontal cross-section open at one side,

a leg received within said U-shaped frame having a U- shaped horizontal cross-section open at the other side, a second leg received within the U-shaped leg, means supporting said legs for limited horizontal and vertical movement with respect to said frame, each leg having a foot with a side face adapted to engage the leading edges of cards in the stack and a bottom face adapted to engage the top of a card moving under the gate, means connecting said legs for eccentric movement with respect to each other and means including said connecting means for alternately driving the legs through paths extending, for each leg, from a registering position in which its side face engages the lowermost card in the stack forwardly along the path of card movement, upwardly until it clears the lowermost card, and then backwardly above the path of card movement to a gate position in which its side face engages the stack above the lowermost card.

8. Card feeding mechanism, comprising a hopper for for receiving a stack of cards and having an opening at one end and adjacent the bottom through which cards may move, friction drive means engaging the bottom card and tending to drive it through said opening, and a walking gate at said opening and controlling the spacing of the cards moving therethrough, saidgate comprising a frame outside and above said opening, a pair of legs, each leg having a foot with a side face adapted to engage the leading edges of cards in the stack, and a bottom face adapted to engage the top of a card moving under the gate, means supporting said legs for limited horizontal and vertical movement with respect to said frame, means connecting said legs for eccentric movement with respect to each other and means including said connecting means for cyclically and alternately driving the legs through paths extending, for each leg, from a and then backwardly above the path of card movement to,a gate position in which its side face engages the stack of cards above the lowermost card, said connecting means being effective when the foot of one leg is in the registering position to hold the foot of the other leg in thegate position, said friction drive means being effective as each foot moves forwardly to carry the lowermost card along with the forwardly moving foot and under the foot in the gate position, and a set of pull-out rollers positioned to engage a card soon after it clears the legs of the gate.

9. Card feeding mechanism comprising a walking gate including a frame, a pair of legs, means supporting said and means including said connecting means for alternately driving the legs through paths extending, for each leg, from a registering position in which its side face engages the lowermost card in the stack forwardly along the path of cardrnovement, upwardly until it clears the lowermost card, and then backwardly above the path of card movement to a gate position in which its side face engages the stack above the lowermost card, a friction drive means for the cards being fed from the stack, said means for driving the legs of the gate operating through a cycle which is completed faster than the friction drive means can push a complete card forward, so that said cards are fed in an overlapped relationship, a support member extending parallel to said stack of cards, a parallelogram linkage connecting said frame to said support member, and means for driving said legs including a first shaft journaled in said legs and extending freely through said frame, a second shaft rotatable about a fixed axis,

two universal joints in series connecting said shafts, and

means for driving said second shaft. 7

1Q. Card feeding mechanism, comprising a hopper for receiving a stack of cards and having ail-opening at one end and adjacent the bottom through which cards may move, friction drive means engaging the bottom card and tending to drive it through said opening, and a walking "gate at said opening and controlling the spacing of the cards moving therethrough, said gate comprising a frame outside and above said opening, a pair of legs, each leg having a foot with a side face adapted to engage the leading edges of cards in the stack, and a bottom face adapted to engage the top of a card moving under the gate, means supporting said legs for limited horizontal and vertical movement with respect to said frame, means connecting said legs for eccentric movement with respect to each other and means including said connecting means for cyclically and alternately driving the legs through paths extending, for each leg, from a registering position in which its side face engages the lowermost card in the stack forwardly along the path of card movement, upwardly until it clears the first card, and then backwardly above the path of card movement to a gate position in which its side face engages the stack of cards above the lowermost card, said connecting means I being effective when the foot of one leg is in the registering position to hold the foot of the other leg in the gate position, said friction drive means being effective as each foot moves forwardly to carry the lowermost card along with the forwardly moving foot and under the foot in the gate position, said leg driving means completing its cycle of operation in a time shorter than that required for the friction drive means to drive a complete card out of the hopper, so that the cards are driven in an overlapped relationship.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

